


starlight

by moonlightrichie



Series: Reddie Meet-Cute AUs [4]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, First Date, First Kiss, M/M, Meet-Cute, Stargazing, and i love him for it, but i tried to google what i could, different first meeting, don't be too hard on me, he loves the universe and space so much guys, heh, i don't know anything about stars or astronomy, museum, space nerd richie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 22:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20608268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightrichie/pseuds/moonlightrichie
Summary: Eddie meets the star-freckled man that is Richie Tozier at the museum.Tumblr prompt: reddie meeting at a museum





	1. A room full of stars

”I just love the duh-detailing on the trees, do you s-see that?”

“Uh huh”, Eddie barely gave the painting a glance, instead looking around to see if there was anything else interesting nearby. Bill didn’t notice.

“And then the sky in between the b-branches, even though it’s black, somehow it’s still puh-popping out of the frame”, Bill finally seemed to notice Eddie looking away and poked his upper arm. “Eddie, are you seeing this?”

“Sure.” Leaning in, he tried taking in whatever Bill had just said, but it had disappeared from his mind. Into one ear and out the other.

“Probably one of my f-favorites so far.”

If only they hadn’t already been there for two hours Eddie might have cared. Instead he was bored out of his mind.

“Bill”, Eddie finally got his attention. “This was fun for the first half hour, but you promised there was that special art piece here? When are we getting to see that?”

It had been a week since Bill had called in excitement, babbling on the phone about the new space exhibit at their local art museum. Apparently lots of talented artists from their area. Eddie had been intrigued, especially when Bill mentioned the highlight of the exhibit: a closed room where if you stood at specific spots, it looked like you were floating in space.

“And it’s all juh-just optical illusion! And it’s painted on, glow-in-the-dark painting! Absolutely a-amazing!” Bill had yelled.

Eddie had quickly agreed after that. The universe wasn’t something he was majorly invested in or anything, but an illusion of floating in space? Now _that_ sounded interesting. He wanted to get more knowledge on art anyways, get some perspective.

And he’d _really_ tried. Oh, how he’d tried. Yet, there were only so many paintings of stars he could look at before it all blended together and his brain started melting.

“Oh”, Bill raised his eyebrows, seeming to just remember about that part of the exhibit. “Of course, it’s over here.”

Apparently that specific room was used for special art pieces all the time, and Bill (visiting the museum quite often), knew well where it was.

“Here”, he nodded towards a box of a room, smaller than Eddie had pictured, about the size of his own bedroom back in Derry. “I have to go pee, but you can just go ahead and I’ll j-join you in a minute.”

Bill was off before Eddie could respond.

Sighing, he slid the door open and it glided to the side soundlessly. In the darkness he could barely spot the silhouette of another man, the quiet from the room much more pressuring than he’d anticipated.

It was the kind of quiet where it felt like even the smallest of breaths would ruin the atmosphere and shatter the layer of silence. Glad to be wearing soft sneakers, he managed to step inside without disturbing the man.

He finally got to look around the room then, stars and planets painted all around. The four walls, the ceiling and even the floor were covered in black. It was obvious he was standing in the wrong place, the stars looking disfigured and stretched out.

After some time getting used to the dark, he finally saw a gray X on the floor, marking one of the spots where the optical illusion would work. So he walked over, as quiet as he could, but as soon as he focused back on the art, he couldn’t help the small gasp escaping him.

That was when a short yelp broke through the silence, making Eddie jump out of his bones in alarm.

“Holy shit!” a voice started laughing behind him, and Eddie whipped around. “Oh, my god. You scared me!”

“What?” Eddie’s heart was still beating fast, eyes landing on the man.

“I got so lost in looking at Jupiter that I just completely zoned out, didn’t notice anyone coming in.”

Even in the dim light, Eddie noticed the man running a hand through his hair, a mop of curls reaching down to his shoulders. He was tall, wearing glasses that reflected some of the stars on the wall, and he seemed to be grinning.

“Sorry?” Eddie still didn’t understand.

“Your little gasp there, snapped me right out of my trance.”

“Oh”, Eddie sighed, feeling his heart slow down. “Well, you scared me too so I guess we’re even.”

The man laughed. “I guess we are.”

They stood looking at each other for a few seconds, and Eddie considered turning around to resume his watching. But then the man waved him over with a hand gesture. “Come here.”

With cautious steps, Eddie furrowed his brows before walking towards him.

“Alright, stand here.” The man stepped away and pointed down at the X he’d been standing on just a few seconds ago. Putting his hands on Eddie’s shoulder, he turned him around to point him towards the painted planet, a finger appearing right next to Eddie’s head. “Look.”

And _oh_.

“Oh”, Eddie’s eyes widened as he took it in, the details, the gorgeous mix of browns and blues and whites, the swirls and spirals, looking so real. It was breathtaking.

“It’s amazing, right?” The man still had his hands on Eddie, looking over his shoulder so he could study the painting too. “I was probably staring at it for three minutes straight earlier.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“You’ve seen those pictures of Jupiter, right?”

“No, I don’t think so?” Eddie couldn’t tear his eyes away from the art.

“Well, I think it’s my favorite planet, it’s just so beautiful. And those pictures, I’ll have to show them to you after - anyways, this painter has captured it _so _well.” The man was almost whispering now, voice hushed and low.

“Wow.” Eddie himself didn’t have much knowledge on the universe, not much interest either. But listening to this man sparked it nonetheless. Just hearing someone who cared and obviously loved it so much made it much more easy to take it all in.

“Do you have a favorite planet?”

“Uh, I’ve never really thought about it”, Eddie scratched his head. “I guess this one doesn’t look too bad.”

A breath of laughter hit Eddie’s ear. “Not too bad?”

Eddie sighed. “Alright, it’s breathtaking.”

“Glad we agree.”

Eddie nodded his head, turning around to face the man. He was standing closer than Eddie had thought and Eddie ended up knocking into him with his shoulder. “Uh.”

“Oh!” The man took a step back. “Sorry, didn’t mean to step all into your space there.”

“No, that’s”, Eddie managed a smile, gears already turning inside his head at the man’s comment. “That’s okay, I guess we’re in the same _space_ here anyways, huh?” He pointed his finger around the room, a stupid grin on his face.

The man stood staring for a second, and Eddie feared that he might have just embarrassed himself. But then the man laughed, the sound bright and happy.

“I’m-” the man was shaking his head. “Wow, that’s- that’s adorable.”

He was cute. Like, he was _really_ cute. And even though it was dark, the only light coming from the glowing stars around them, it wasn’t hard to see. A charming smile, sharp nose and fluffy hair that looked even softer than the fleece Eddie had at home. The one he cuddled into every winter, stroking at the arms without thinking, the fabric silky-smooth underneath his fingers.

And was that _freckles_ he saw?

Eddie couldn’t even see the man’s eyes, but he was still mesmerized, almost as much as he was by Jupiter.

“I’m Richie.”

“Eddie.”

“Do you-”, Richie rocked back and forth on his heels, gesturing with his head towards the door, “do you wanna step outside for a bit?”

“Sure.”

The two smiled at each other shyly before shuffling out of the room, door sliding open just as quietly as earlier.

The light blinded Eddie for a moment, and he had to blink harshly a couple of times.

“Jesus, that’s bright”, Richie removed his glasses to rub at his eyes. When he looked back up, putting them on again, Eddie wanted to sigh in frustration, because _really_? _Gorgeous blue eyes_? _Seriously_?

Eddie was _very _gay, and it was just unfair at this point.

“So, Eddie?” Richie tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. “You come here often?”

“No, not really”, Eddie admitted. “I’m just here with my friend Bill, he’s an art nerd so he comes here a lot.”

Richie was nodding his head. “Oh, that’s cool”, he laughed nervously, “I was actually trying a pick-up line on you?” Eddie’s heart stopped. “But uh, I appreciate getting an answer.” His smile dropped, brows furrowing. “Did I read this wrong?”

“No!” Eddie exclaimed, Richie’s eyes widening. “No, uh, you didn’t.” He pulled a hand through his hair with a chuckle.

“No?”

With a smile, Eddie shook his head. “No.”

“Oh.”

They stood staring at each other, both smiling at their new-found discovery

“So, uh”, Eddie stopped. “What about you? _You_ come here often?”

Richie stepped closer, eyes narrowed. “You hitting on me?”

A confidence washed over Eddie as he smiled. “I am.”

“Well, then you should know that no, I don’t come here often, but a friend of mine told me about the space exhibit so I just really had to go.”

“You’re really into space then?”

“Oh, yes! The entire universe is just”, Richie paused, seeming to be deep in thought before meeting Eddie’s gaze with glittering eyes. “It’s just amazing.”

“I don’t really know much about the universe”, Eddie put his hands inside his pockets. “But I really wanna learn more now.”

“Oh!” Richie jumped up slightly, feet tripping underneath him as he clapped his hands together. “I got a telescope at home! If you want, we can watch the stars together sometime?”

Eddie couldn’t help the grin breaking out on his face. His hands were itching to cover his face in his excitement, a scream building up in his chest. It was like being 15 again.

Managing to keep his cool, Eddie cleared his throat and tipped his head back to look up at Richie. “I’d love that.”

The two of them were exchanging phone numbers when Bill finally came back, a confused look on his face as he looked at Richie. Eddie had almost forgotten Bill even existed.

“I’ll call you”, Richie said as he was backing away.

“Looking forward to it”, Eddie smiled.

With one last wink, Richie turned around and was soon looking at other paintings.

“Who was that?” Bill asked.

“His name’s Richie”, Eddie was still staring. “We’re going stargazing together.”

“Uh?” Bill dragged out, stepping into Eddie’s love-struck vision and pulling him out of his daze.

His eyes snapped back to Bill, and he shook his head slightly. “Never mind, what took so long?”

“Ran into an old fuh-friend on the way back.”

“Oh.”

“You got to see the art in the duh-dark room then?”

“Yeah.”

“How was it?”

Eddie’s gaze immediately wandered back to Richie’s form on the other side of the room, noticing that Richie was already looking over at him. They smiled at each other.

“It was amazing.”


	2. A sky full of stars

Eddie was nervously scrolling through the pictures on his phone, fingers sliding between the three most recent ones. Gorgeous photos of Jupiter that Richie had sent, all of them wonderfully detailed and undeniably beautiful.

His phone had dinged not even five minutes after he’d left the museum with Bill that day, a frantic text reading:

**From: Starboy<3 15:49**  
_I FORGOT 2 SHOW U THE PICS OF JUPITER!!!!_

**To: Starboy<3 15:50**  
_Send them to me :)_

So that was what Richie had done, and now Eddie was scrolling through them to calm himself down as he sat on the bus on his way to Richie’s apartment. There was no reason to be nervous, he knew. The two of them had texted constantly since that day at the museum, absolutely hitting it off, talking about everything and nothing. At some point, Eddie had lied awake until close to 4am, giggling at his phone screen when angry knocking from Bill’s room had snapped him out of it.

“It’s 4am, guh-go to sleep!” came Bill’s muffled yelling from the other side of the thin wall, and Eddie had sheepishly texted Richie that he’d had to go.

Eddie had felt bad keeping Bill up at night, but then again, could Bill really blame him? Knowing as well as Eddie that it had been a while since Eddie had dated anyone, Bill should really be more understanding. Eddie was enough of a giggler already when it came to crushes (he was really like a 12 year old school-girl at heart sometimes), but Richie was _legitimatel_y funny as well, leaving Eddie smiling so wide his face hurt for hours after. He’d even cried laughing once.

And now, the two were finally meeting up for their stargazing date. It had really only been three days since they’d met, but it was more than long enough to Eddie.

Richie was meeting him at the bus stop so they could walk to their destination together, and Eddie felt unprepared. When the bus speakers announced that Eddie’s stop was next, he started messing with his hair in the window reflection, the lack of light making it hard. His heart was beating with anticipation, his shaking fingers struggling to get his hair to look the way he wanted.

But then the bus stopped with a sudden halt, and a couple of seconds passed before he realized, scrambling out of his seat in a stressed hurry. He was halfway out the door when he noticed his bag missing, and with an unnecessarily loud “wait!” screamed at the driver, making several passengers jump in alarm, he sprinted back. Soon enough he was stumbling out the door of the bus, the handles of his tote bag tangled. He was struggling to get it over his shoulder when he heard laughter.

Eddie stopped in his tracks, already feeling the heat spreading across his cheeks as his eyes landed on Richie. Tall and mesmerizing with the telescope over his shoulder, he was smiling widely at Eddie.

“You…” Eddie shrank. “You saw that?”

“Uh huh”, Richie laughed.

“No, you didn’t”, Eddie argued.

“Oh, but I did.” Richie stepped in front of Eddie, staring down at him for just a moment.

“Damn it”, Eddie grumbled.

Richie just laughed before bending down to plant a soft kiss on Eddie’s cheek, hand gently placed on the side of Eddie’s neck. “Well, hi then.”

“Hi”, Eddie smiled as Richie pulled away.

“There’s a hill just past there.” He pointed towards some houses. “And I brought some light snacks and hot chocolate.”

They started walking, Richie leading the way.

“Sounds nice.”

“Also some blankets, and uh”, Richie rubbed the back of his neck, “I brought wine? Just in case you wanted that, although we’ll have to drink it from plastic cups.”

“Wine sounds great”, Eddie peaked a shy glance at Richie. “Do you need a hand with anything? I can carry your backpack.”

“No, I’m okay, I do this all the time.” They smiled at each other, hands brushing as they continued walking.

It wasn’t more than a ten-minute walk until they were standing on top of a small hill, away from all the houses, secluded and surrounded by stars.

Richie dumped his backpack on the grass, already starting to set up his telescope carefully. With a small glance up towards the sky, Eddie could feel all air leave his lungs. Never had he seen so many stars, thousands of glimmering dots decorating the sky.

“Wow”, he whispered.

“Beautiful, right?” Richie stepped up next to him. “The streetlights really ruin the sky on nights like this. When you get far enough away, it’s pretty amazing how many stars you can really see.”

“Yeah”, Eddie mumbled, eyes still locked on the black cover above, unable to stop staring. He could feel his heart slowing down into a steady beat, air filling his lungs in a way he hadn’t felt in a while. It was like finally being able to breathe, and he could feel tears well up in his eyes for a second, tranquility heavy in his chest. All at once it felt like he was pulled down to earth and flying at the same time, and it was all too much. “I…” He stopped, speechless.

“I know the feeling.”

They stood looking up for a second, silence settling over them.

“I’ve set it up, if you wanna see?” Richie’s voice was quiet, softly pulling Eddie out of his daze.

Finally Eddie looked down to meet Richie’s eyes and was met with a nervous smile, crooked teeth biting down on the bottom lip. “Yeah.”

They walked up to the telescope, Richie pointing up the sky. “Do you see those stars over there? With the four stars like a square and three stars making a tail? Kinda looks like a wagon.”

Eddie followed Richie’s finger, and soon enough, he could see it. “Big dipper, right?”

“Oh, look at you having some knowledge on stars, huh?” Richie was nodding, impressed.

“I know some.” Eddie shrugged, a small smile forming on his lips.

“Well, the stars forming the Big Dipper are the seven brightest stars in Ursa Major, which you can also see if you look closely.” He pointed to the telescope for Eddie to peak into.

As Eddie looked closer, Richie talked, mentioning all the names of the stars, guiding Eddie all across the sky and its constellations for the next half hour.

With a careful hand placed on Eddie’s back, he pointed out the brightest stars, rambling about their history, how long they’d been burning, how long until they’d fade, why they had the names they did. And at some point, it all mushed together in Eddie’s brain, just like in the museum with Bill’s art. But the way Richie was waving his arms around, eyes lighting up just like the stars above was utterly endearing. Eddie was already falling in love.

“And now!” Richie clapped his hands together. “For the main entrée.”

Eddie giggled, a hand covering his mouth.

Richie’s excited smile faded into a softer one as he looked down at Eddie. “Holy shit you’re cute.”

Feeling a blush coming, Eddie looked away. “You’re the one who’s cute”, he mumbled.

“What?” Richie leaned closer. “Couldn’t hear ya there, Eds.” 

“I said…” Eddie sighed. “You’re the one who’s cute.”

Richie’s eyes widened, apparently not expecting that. For a few moments, he opened and closed his mouth, seeming to try to come up with a response. Then he ducked his head, a quick movement, but Eddie still caught the grin he was sprouting.

“The way you talk about the stars and all that, how passionate you are and wanting to show me, it’s really cute”, Eddie continued and smiled shyly when Richie looked back up.

“I’m”, Richie shrugged. “I, uhm, I don’t really know how to respond to that.”

“That’s okay”, Eddie turned back towards the telescope. “But at least now you know.”

“I guess.”

Eddie could still feel Richie’s gaze on him, eyes burning into the side of his face.

“So what was that you said about a main entrée?”

“Oh, right!” Richie started moving the telescope around and changing its direction, going between looking into it and up at the sky. After a couple of seconds, he stepped back. “There.”

He pointed out a swirly line of stars. “If you look into the telescope you can see them more clearly, but those are the stars forming Scorpio.”

“Like the star sign?”

“Exactly.”

“Oh.”

After looking at the constellation for a few moments, Eddie felt a soft push on his bicep. He stepped away from the telescope, Richie taking over and once again moving it around, seeming to look for something specific.

“And then, if we just move it a little bit”, he mumbled to himself before pulling away with a satisfied smile. “Look now.”

Eddie peaked into the telescope again, met with a bright star in the center. It was the most prominent one he’d seen so far. Starting to get confused as to why exactly this star was more special than all the others, he almost pulled away when he realized that maybe this wasn’t even a star at all.

“Is that?”

“It is”, Richie chuckled.

“Wow.”

And with some focus and concentration, Eddie was sure he could see the brow-toned colors of Jupiter blending together. Or maybe he was just imagining things.

“You probably can’t see much right now, but hold on, I can try adjusting a bit.”

Eddie stepped away and as Richie tinkered with the telescope, he glanced up at the sky, eyes settling on the gleaming planet just above the Scorpio constellation. And with a sudden awareness that the glorious Jupiter, Richie’s favorite planet, was right there, he inhaled sharply. Massive and breathtaking yet oh so small from where they were standing, and it was _right _there; not just a picture anymore. It was _real_, and Eddie was looking right at it.

“There, you should be able to see it better now.”

Eddie took a look, and for sure there it was. And it was so obvious now; the planet beautiful even from this simple view.

“It’s right there”, Eddie whispered. “What the fuck.”

A bark of a laugh made Eddie pull away to look over at Richie.

“It’s crazy, right?”

Eddie nodded frantically, eyed wide. “Yes, holy shit, I don’t even know how to react to that.”

Richie put his hands in his pockets. “We can just lie down on the blanket and look at the stars from here? You want wine, right?”

“Yes, please.”

The two of them sat down, both turned towards the other with their knees touching. Eddie got to talk to Richie about what he did too, working as a mechanic and rambling about his love for cars with Richie chiming in whenever he could.

“Maybe you could show me how they work and all that sometime?” His smile was nervous, as if he wasn’t sure Eddie wanted to meet again.

“I’d love that”, Eddie put his arms around his knees, pulling them close to his chest. “Dunno if it’s gonna be very interesting, probably boring.”

“Eddie”, Richie interrupted, scooting closer, “you just let me ramble about stars and constellations for an hour straight. I’d love for you to show me cars and, uhm, motors and stuff.”

Eddie nodded, head tilted to the side. “Okay.”

“Yeah?” Richie was leaning in closer, eyes flickering down to look at Eddie’s lips.

“Yeah.”

Then Eddie closed the gap, their lips meeting in a soft kiss, Eddie catching Richie’s bottom lip between his. Butterflies erupted in his stomach, all of his focus on the wetness of Richie’s mouth, the two of them fitting together perfectly. A hand landed on Eddie’s waist, pulling him closer, and Eddie’s heart was beating faster and faster for each second passing.

Something wet poked at the underside of his upper lip, and Eddie opened up to meet Richie’s tongue with his own. Soon he was lying on his back, Richie hovering over him, fingers stroking at Eddie’s bare hip underneath his sweater.

Richie pulled away after a few more seconds, looking down at Eddie with warm eyes behind his glasses. Even in the dark, Eddie could spot the litter of freckles on his face, and could only imagine the freckles covering the rest of his body.

As Richie leaned down again, capturing Eddie’s lips once more, Eddie knew where the night was headed. And he couldn’t wait to get to know the stars on Richie’s body just like he’d gotten to know the stars scattered across the glittering sky they were lying underneath.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading !! Please let me know what you think.  
Come be my friend on tumblr: moonlightrichie


End file.
